Méthodologie appliquée

According to Gilles Deleuze, innovation can only take place in a minor mode, that contradicts or at least questions the major modes of expression, thus generating new processes of thinking, creating, and envisioning our world… until this minor mode becomes canonized. The import of his and other French theoreticians’ works in the US in the 1960s and beyond produced a plurality of theories, often applied to newly-defined fields of investigation: “gender studies,” “cultural studies,” “minority studies,” etc. Some think with the help of works by Jacques Derrida, others use concepts coined by Michel Foucault, others still find inspiration in works by Gaston Bachelard or Julia Kristeva. More recently, Paul Ricœur or Emmanuel Levinas’s work in ethics has been the basis for new theoretical approaches for historians, sociologists, and literary critics alike. Theory in America is a question of reinterpretation as well as a contested negotiation between abstract (French) thought and pragmatist (American) approaches to grapple with an ever-changing intellectual environment.

Research involves different stages: carving out a research topic, looking at its implications and theoretical underpinnings, then writing out a full-scale essay… The entire writing process requires parallel reading of primary texts (which requires defining a corpus) and theoretical reflections (which requires defining a methodology), as well as negotiating the interactions between one’s primary and secondary literature. This seminar will follow this research process by studying a series of founding theoretical texts, and helping students map out and structure their own writing process.

Initiation à la lecture théorique, accompagnement à la recherche individuelle et à la rédaction du mémoire de recherche.

Contrôle dérogatoire de session 1 
Une épreuve écrite sur table de 3h (commentaire d'un texte théorique bref d’un des auteurs étudiés en cours).

Examen de session 2 
Une épreuve écrite sur table de 3h (commentaire d'un texte théorique bref d’un des auteurs étudiés en cours).

Anglais C1, Français C1

In preparation of the seminar:

 - Jean-Michel RABATÉ. The Future of Theory. Blackwell, 2002.
 -  Reine-Marie BÉRARD, Bénédicte GIRAULT, and Catherine RIDEAU-KIKUCHI, eds. Manuel d’initiation Aux Études Historiques. Nouveau Monde, 2020. (open access: https://lib.isiaccess.com/process/reader/book.php?ean=9782380941210)
-  Alun MUNSLOW. The Routledge Companion to Historical Studies. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2006.

Textbook:

 - David LODGE, and Nigel WOOD. Modern Criticism and Theory. Third Edition. Longman, 2008.